US-based hotelier and film producer, Neeraj Patel (34), died of a heart attack at the Bharitya Arogya Nidhi Hospital in Juhu last night after he was brought in by the staff of J W Marriott in a critical state. Patel, producer of the film Hot Money, which was directed by actor Rakhi Sawant’s brother Rakesh, was staying at the posh hotel since September 29 , police said.
“He had a meeting with an aspiring actress around 6:30 pm. After this he went to his room. He later called this girl who informed us that he was not feeling well. A team of doctors rushed him to the hospital where he died around 7:30 pm. He had a heart attack,� says a spokesperson of the hotel.
When contacted, the doctor at the hospital who attended to Patel said, ‘‘It was a heart attack. He was unconscious when he was brought here�.
Kiran Patel, Neeraj’s cousin and co-producer of the movie from Ahmedabad, and Pradeep Chaudasama, a close friend, reached the hospital around 10 pm. “He has a medical history. He has been hospitalized twice in US last year. He had suffered seizures in the past,� said Chaudasama.
According to Chaudasama, Patel was a rich man who owned a chain of restaurants like Radisson and Holidane in the US and it was his passion for films that brought him here.
Following Patel’s death, his relatives and the hotel staff who had attended to him were interrogated for hours by the Santacruz police. “His body was sent to R N Cooper Hospital for post mortem. We received the report late in the night which stated heart attack as the cause. I do not see any foul play,’’ said investigating officer of the case, Police Inspector Nitin Surve. Dilip Gaikwad, Senior Police Inspector, Santacruz stated that the girl who had a meeting with Patel, Aditi Vajpayi, was from Baroda and she was in touch with the deceased for quite some time. She wanted to be the heroine in his upcoming venture.
Meanwhile, Bipin Bihari, Additional Commissioner of Police, Western Region stated that the post mortem report received by the police is just provisional. “The actual report is awaited. So far we have learnt that he had Asphyxia,� he said.
